Not One of My Better Days
by Rackuhn
Summary: A Faceman’s POV about how badly a day can turn while being a member of the ATeam.


NOT ONE OF MY BETTER DAYS

By: Rackuhn

Disclaimer: Don't own them and made no money (darn it).

Summary: A Faceman's POV about how badly a day can turn while being a member of the A-Team.

Warning: Some blood, a couple of bad words, but mostly bad writing. Hope you like it.

This was not one of my better days. It was a fluke really. I was doing what Hannibal asked me to do, trying to find the plans for the construction of the new condos and high-rise buildings that Hunter Construction Company had in mind to build. Unfortunately for the people who just happen to be living in that section of town, they were being forced to sell, far below fair market value of course, to a company known as "Rainbow Valley Consultants". This of course was a front for Matthew Hunter himself, and if you didn't sell, his goons were sent to threaten you, hurt you, or your property was mysteriously destroyed.

It was after hours when I "snuck" into Hunter's construction company's main building, a lovely 30-story high-rise done up with the works. You could immediately tell that Hunter's business was quite profitable, at the expense of others, of course. I just happened to reach the records room that contained the plans and drawings of all his "projects" that he had done or was in the process of doing. Easily picking the lock on the door to this room, I quickly found the information that I was searching for. Carefully folding the needed information, I stuck it into the inner pocket of my suit coat and headed back down the way I came. That's when my trouble began.

I unfortunately ran into one of the security guards, who just happened to come out of the "Executive Men's Washroom" (I wonder what Hunter would have thought of that if he knew). He didn't believe that I was actually lost, because he told me all of the doors to that floor are locked. I managed to take him out with a right cross. He went down hard but not hard enough. I ran down the hallway, turning the corner just as I heard the gunshots. I managed to make it to the stairwell and was just opening the door when I heard more shots ring out. I ran down those stairs faster that I thought I could ever run, hearing the guard's footsteps behind me. I made it through the door that I had used earlier to enter the building and quickly jumped into my 'Vette. Throwing the car into gear, I raced out of the parking lot and down the street before the guard got another chance to fire at me.

I headed straight for the rendezvous sight that the team and I had agreed upon earlier. I managed to get there before the others so I sat and waited for them to arrive. That's when I noticed the pain. With my adrenaline waning I became very aware of the white, hot pain coursing through my right shoulder. I then notice that my breathing was starting to become shallow and that my vision was also starting to go gray around the edges. I was also cold but it was 85 degrees outside, the first signs of shock. I loosened my tie and I opened the front of my shirt the best I could with one hand and took a peek at what was there. Blood. What I was looking at was not the entrance wound but the exit. The ground up flesh that I could see was weeping blood profusely. Leaning back in my seat I also realized that the back of my shoulder also felt very wet. It was then that I noticed that my hand was starting to go numb. Not a good sign. With no way of controlling the bleeding I knew that I was in trouble.

I tried desperately to grab the car phone. After dropping it three times, I finally managed to hold on to it long enough to try and dial. That however, proved to be more difficult than one would think. With my vision slowly graying, and sweat from my brow stinging my eyes, I had trouble reading the numbers to dial. I finally gave up after I dropped the phone for the fourth time; instead I tried to concentrate on my breathing. I needed to stay awake so that I could let the guys know what was going on.

After what seemed like an eternity, the van finally pulled up next to my 'Vette. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Hannibal was waiting for me to get into the van. When I didn't move, he and Murdock quickly jumped out and headed over, Hannibal opening the driver's side door, and Murdock getting in and kneeling on the passenger seat. I tried desperately to say something, but nothing came out.

"Face, are you alright? What happened?" Hannibal asked concerned. He was trying to assess the situation visually, looking me over to see what was wrong. I definitely picked the wrong day to wear my blue suit. It hid the bloodstains well enough that the guys didn't notice.

I saw that Murdock was looking at how my suit and tie were not in their proper place and I then felt Murdock's hands removing my tie and pulling open my shirt. I know that he was reaching in to check my breathing, but became alarmed when his hand came out covered in blood. "Hannibal!" He held his hand up so that Hannibal could see. They quickly pulled back more of my jacket and shirt to find the wound on my shoulder.

"How'd this happen, Face?" Hannibal asked. As hard as I tried to speak, all I could do was look at him, while concentrating on my breathing, trying not to pass out. "BA, get the first aid kit from the van," he yelled over his shoulder. BA was there almost instantly, taking in the situation. I felt Hannibal press the gauze onto my shoulder. I tried to scream but all that came out was a low moan. I closed my eyes tight trying to will the pain away. "Hang in there, Face. We'll get you some help," Hannibal told me as he applied more gauze.

"Murdock, help me lean him forward. I need to see if there is an exit wound," he ordered. Little did he know that he was looking at the exit wound. I felt their hands slip behind my back and push me forward against the steering wheel. "Damn, he's bleeding heavily out the back of his shoulder too. We got to get him help fast."

"Where we gonna go? Cain't go to any of the hospitals 'round here. Decker's watchin' for us," BA asked as the others pushed me back in my seat.

"Murdock, get in the van. BA grab Face and lie him down on the floor."

With my head spinning, I barely felt Murdock squeeze my arm before he jumped out of my car and headed to the van. I then felt BA pick me up and carry me over and lay me down on the van's floor in between the back seats. Hannibal then jumped in too. BA shut the door and I heard him get in behind the wheel. I felt the van lurch into gear and we took off. "Where we goin' Hannibal?" BA asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Bad Rock," he stated flatly.

"Do you think he can hold out that long?" I heard Murdock ask Hannibal, his brown eyes looking intently into mine. I could tell that he was worried, very worried.

"He's got to. He will," Hannibal answered. "Give me a hand Murdock."

I felt their hands slip underneath my back once again and they elevated my head and shoulders. Hannibal held me upright as I heard Murdock cut away the back of my suit jacket and shirt. Damn. I just got that shirt too. How do I always manage to wear one of my new or good shirts when I get hurt?

Once they got the jacket and shirt off of me, Hannibal place fresh gauze on both the back and front of my shoulder. They then laid me back down and I felt more pressure being applied to the front of my shoulder. "Looks like he was shot in the back and the bullet went straight through. Got to at least slow the bleeding down. Hang in there, kid. We'll be at Maggie's before you know it," Hannibal said trying to comfort me.

---

"K" I whispered. Hannibal smiled back at me. Knowing that the guys were there and that I was being taken care of, the grayness of my vision finally caught up with me, and everything slowly faded to black.

The next time I woke, I felt myself being jostled around. I managed to open my eyes and realized that BA was carrying me once again. I caught the worried look in his brown eyes as he looked down at me. "Hang in there, little brotha. Doc Sullivan gonna fix you up real fast," he told me. I nodded my head to let him know that I heard him just as my eyes decided to close.

I felt myself being placed onto a table and heard Maggie telling everyone else to leave. "Face, can you hear me?" Maggie asked. I nodded slightly. A mask was place over my nose and mouth and I felt the oxygen start to flow. I don't know if it was my imagination but it seemed to help to make my breathing easier. "Don't feel like talking much huh? I'll tell you, I think that this is the quietest you've ever been around me."

I then felt her swab my arm and insert the IV needle. "Relax Face. Hannibal warned me you guys were coming. We need to get some fluids into you. I also have some blood on the way that should be here shortly. Once that gets here, we'll get you to surgery. I'm going to give you something to help with the pain too. Do you understand?" I opened my eyes to look at her and nodded again to let her know that I did indeed understand. She smiled at my response as my eyes once again closed.

Maggie then started to examine the wounds. I hissed in pain as she started to probe them making sure that there were no bullet fragments left. "Take it easy Face. I know this hurts but it is necessary. "Were you hurt anyplace else?" It took some effort, but I managed to tell her. "Hand…can't move".

"I'm going to have to get some x-rays and we'll go from there." I tried to respond, but the medication was starting to kick in. Although I couldn't feel it very well, she started checking my right arm and hand. "Face, can you squeeze my fingers?" she asked. I tried. Boy did I try, but I don't think anything happened. "Okay Face. That was good," Maggie said. I think she was just trying to humor me. Great. What good am I to the team if I can't use my hand, especially my right hand? All the thoughts of what I was capable of doing came to mind. I would not be able to do any of them if I lost the use of my right hand. I would only be a detriment to the team.

She started taking my blood pressure, checking my pulse and respirations, and she listened to my heart and lungs. I then heard her moving equipment around the room. I moaned again when she placed the x-ray plates into position and heard the machine work. I then heard her go to the door and call for Murdock.

"Yeah Doc. How is he?" he asked. I could hear the worry in his voice. Knowing him, he was dancing back and forth on his feet, desperately trying to see how I was doing. I wanted to sit up and tell him that I was just fine, but I didn't even have the strength to lift my good hand to wave.

"He's doing okay for right now Murdock. But I need your help. Could you go to the dark room and develop these x-rays for me?" she asked. I knew what she was doing. I knew she would know that Murdock would be worrying the most. She was just giving him something to do to keep his mind occupied for a while. I could see why Hannibal liked her so much; she is one smart lady.

"Okay Doc. Have these back to you in a jiffy," Murdock exclaimed. "Come on Billy. We have work to do." I then heard him run down the hall. At least I won't have to worry about him worrying about me for a while, besides Billy, his invisible dog, was with him too. I then heard a different voice coming from the other room. "Maggie! It's me, Paula. Got the blood that you asked for," this voice explained.

"Oh great, Paula. Come on in here with it," Maggie called out.

"Maggie?" I heard Hannibal question.

"It's all right. This is Paula Swanson. She's going to assist me while I work on Face. Don't worry she can be trusted," Maggie explained as she pushed Hannibal back out of the door. She then came over by me. "Face, can you open your eyes for me one more time?"

It wasn't easy, between the medication, pain, and the overwhelming exhaustion that I was feeling I did manage to open them. "Face, this is Paula. She is going to be assisting me with your operation. She is a registered nurse from the local hospital here, so there's no need to worry, she helps me here from time to time." I looked over to the beautiful new face that I saw and gave her one of the best smiles that I could muster at the time. Her beautiful green eyes just seem to light up when she returned the smile. Unfortunately for me, my eyes decided that it was time to close once again.

"Let's get him prepped. The x-rays should be done in a few minutes," I heard Maggie tell Paula. "Finish stripping him while I get the transfusion going." That got my attention. I tried to protest the fact that this beautiful nurse was going to strip me down to nothing. Using my good arm, I tried to bat away the hands that were unbuttoning my pants as another hand grabbed my arm. "Face, stop it! I know normally that what Paula is doing wouldn't bother you, but now is not the time to be modest. This is strictly professional," Maggie yelled at me. "Let her do her job!" My hand was held in place while I felt my pants and underwear being removed, and then a clean, cool sheet was placed on top of me. I opened my eyes again to see Paula standing next to me with a very large smile on her face. I tried to smile back, but the situation was just too embarrassing. If I could have met her another place at another time…

There was a knock at the door and Maggie rushed over to open it. Murdock was standing outside holding the freshly developed set of x-rays. "Here ya go Doc. Hot off the press."

"Thanks Murdock." She closed the door and headed to the light boxes on the wall to look over the x-rays. Paula was finishing up getting me prepped for surgery. I heard her get the instrument trays ready and felt her place the surgical sheets over my chest and shoulder.

"Okay Face. Were ready," Maggie said as she came back to stand beside me. "I'm going to give you something to make you sleep, then I am going to use a local anesthetic on your shoulder. You shouldn't feel a thing. The x-rays don't look too bad, but it does look like the bullet hit one of the bones in your shoulder, which caused the bone to fragment. It looks like one of the fragments is pressing against the nerve running down your arm, which is causing the numbness. Once I repair that, hopefully your hand and arm should return back to normal. Now, I am not guaranteeing that, but it looks like there is a good possibility that everything will turn out fine." She smiled as she told me this and I tried to smile back. "Try not to worry. There is enough of that going on in the other room." I nodded.

"Okay Paula, let's get started." I watch as Maggie filled a syringe and swabbed down the IV port. She inserted the needle and pushed the plunger down. A few seconds later, I felt myself starting to float as the medication kicked in. It wasn't long before I was out again.

---

The layer of darkness that I was in, started to turn gray. I thought that I could hear voices around me, but I wasn't quite sure. I tried moving and wished I hadn't. I heard myself groan out loud and then I heard someone calling my name. "Face, can you hear me kid?" It was Hannibal.

"I'll go get Maggie," I heard Murdock say as he ran out the door.

"Come on Lieutenant. Time to wake up. You've had enough R&R for a while," Hannibal ordered with is "Colonel" voice.

At that my eyes snapped open. Slowly I looked around the room that I was in and tried to focus on the voice that was commanding me to wake up. "I said wake up Lieutenant," Hannibal ordered again. Finally my eyes found him sitting on the bed next to me.

"Hannibal?" I slurred. My mouth was not quite ready to work yet.

"Yeah kid. It's about time you joined the real world again. You had us pretty worried there for a while."

"Sorry." That was all I was able to get out for the moment. I notice that my shoulder was tightly wrapped to my right side and that I was now laying in one of Maggie's spare bedrooms in a fresh pair of pajamas, with the right side wrapped and pinned around me.

"You thirsty?" Hannibal asked. I nodded affirmative. He got up and went over to pour some water in a glass. He then returned and placed a straw in my mouth. I started to drink in the cool, refreshing liquid.

"Easy there. Slowly. Don't want to get sick, do you?" he asked as he pulled the glass away.

"How long?"

"How long you've been out?" he asked. I nodded. "Oh about two and half days. You'd lost a lot of blood."

Just then, Maggie, Murdock, and BA entered into the room.

"Hey Facey. Glad to see you awake again," Murdock exclaimed. He started to head over to the bed but BA held him back. "Stay away from him fool. You'll only end up hurtin' him again," BA ordered.

"Ahh BA, I only wanted to give him a hug," Murdock whined.

"An' if you do, you'll end up squeezin' too tight," BA responded. He turned to look at me. "Hey Faceman. How ya feelin'?"

"Like I got hit by a truck."

"Close. You were hit by a .45 caliber bullet instead," Hannibal informed me.

"How's the pain, Face?" Maggie asked as she started checking the dressings on the wounds.

"Not too bad," I lied.

"Then why does your face look like that, all scrunchied up?" Murdock asked seeing right through me.

"Face, if you are in pain, you must let me know and I'll give you something for it. That's the only way your body is going to heal properly," Maggie sighed exasperated. "Why do all of you guys think that you are so tough that you don't need to take the pain medication?"

"Oh I wouldn't say that," Hannibal said in defense of everyone.

"Yeah right. Like the time BA got shot in the leg. Had to tough it out. Ended up having more problems with his leg after you guys put those bikers in jail. Or how about the time Murdock ended up getting shot and you had to remove the bullet? He didn't want the pain medication either. You guys practically had to sit on him when you got him here so that I could give him something. And you Hannibal…"

"Alright, we get the point. Face will take his pain medication. That's an order," he turned and looked directly at me. I had to smile though. Maggie was about the only person who could overrule Hannibal on any situation.

"What are you smiling about Lieutenant?" Hannibal asked of me, frowning.

"Oh nothing, Colonel. Nothing," I smiled back.

"Face, I need to check your hand," Maggie said as she grabbed it. "Circulation is much better. Nice and warm. Can you squeeze my hand?" She wrapped my fingers around her hand. It took a moment, but I finally got them to move. It hurt like hell, but they did move. I don't know whose smile was bigger, hers or mine.

"That was great Face," Maggie said proudly, "you'll need to have some physical therapy done on your shoulder and hand, but I think you will heal up 100."

"That's great news, Facey!" Murdock exclaimed very happily. He almost starting jumping up and down, but was held down by BA's large hand on his shoulder.

"The bullet damaged some of the shoulder muscle and it was just the bone fragment that was compressing the nerve to your hand. You should be healed up nicely in about six weeks. Until then, I prescribe a nice long vacation, not just for you but for all of you guys," Maggie smiled brightly.

"I suggest someplace tropical," I said, and I didn't get an argument from anyone.

"So are you ready to tell us what happened to you?" Hannibal asked.

I lay there telling everyone the story about how I ended up with a bullet in my shoulder, embellishing some of the details here and there. Made for a great story if I do say so myself. "Oh, by the way, did you happen to find the plans in my suit jacket, or should I say what is left of my suit jacket?"

"Yeah we did. You did good kid, although you did do it the hard way," Hannibal said smiling. "We sent the plans to the local D.A.'s office with a note explaining what was happening in the neighborhood that Hunter wanted to buy up, and how all of the people were being forced to sell below fair market value.

"Yeah, I heard on the news that Hunter is tryin' to explain to the D.A. what was goin' on, but with all of the witnesses that were comin' forth, it looks like he's gonna be in jail a long time," BA finished.

"That's great. Looks like all of this was worth while then," I suggested pointing to my shoulder.

"It sure was. Just next time, try to do it with out the extra drama," Hannibal suggested. I laughed, wincing at the pain that coursed through my shoulder. Maggie immediately kicked the rest out of the room and handed me a couple of pain pills.

"Oh, by the way Face. When you feel up to it, Paula would like you to call her. Here's her number." Maggie handed me a piece of paper, smiling brightly. "Now get some rest. One of us will check on you in a while."

As the door was closing, I soon found myself relaxing and falling asleep. I looked at the phone number in my hand, smiling. Maybe that was one of my better days.

The End


End file.
